Using Social Media to Help Spread the Word

Many times businesses host events in real life with seminars, gatherings, special sales, open houses, customer appreciation get-togethers promotional or other special events. Other times they could be hosting webinars or teleconferences. One way to get the word out about events such as these is through social media outlets. These are events that can be promoted cost-effectively through these avenues such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube or other similar tools. The key to getting people to these events is to know how to use these methods and when.

Social Media

Using Social Media to Promote Prior to Your Event

One thing to do as your very first step is to announce your event to your followers and fans asking them to mark it on their calendar. This can be effectively done through just words but a good way to catch your audience’s eye is by creating a promotional flyer and turning it into a jpeg or gif file to upload as a photo with all of the event information on it.

To use Twitter as a means to spread the word, many people can use hash tags. Some special events even have their own hash tag set up such as #celebritymeetandgreet for example. There is no special trick to use it but use the hash tag in all of the other posts that are relevant to that event and ask your followers to tweet your hash tag to spread the word. You may even offer a special deal or giveaway to someone who uses this method. Make sure when you tweet about your event to change it up by not just talking about when the event is but maybe if there are door prizes, special guests, or other noteworthy information that may intrigue your followers. Ask the people to continue to re-tweet your message but avoid talking about your event too much or it appears desperate.

To use Facebook, this is a very powerful tool. You may want to create a certain page specifically for your event. You can also create a “Facebook Event” and ask your business’ current followers to RSVP or pass on the word. Your fan base will be responsive that way if they see that a special event is coming up. As with Twitter, keep updating posts and include information on the wall to talk about the event. Another way to spread the news is to add a “Like” box on your blog, website or other presence you may have online. You may also consider creating ads on Facebook to reach beyond your current fanbase.

Using LinkedIn is an effective way toreach other professionals. Your event will show up and people can RSVP to it, showing those people who have said that they were coming to your event on the home profile of every account that is connected. This is a huge benefit for spreading the word for you with minimal time and effort for you. Once you have created an event on LinkedIn, you can easily invite people that are in your profile’s network and the event will also appear in the events search.

Utilize online calendars. There are several places online, including blog spots that could be targeted toward your industry or community where you can market your event. People can then see that there is something going on and they need to be there.

Social Media to Help Spread the Word

Don’t forget that even though you are hosting an event, you can also talk about it while you are at it. Use hash tags, upload photos or videos and even create blogs telling about how great your event was. Make sure to even leave a spot for your guests to comment. The more that people see how great your event was, the more that they will take notice when it appears on their calendar again. It is a good way to spark interest in your business, in your online profiles and in your real life event.